THE WORLD OF BEAUTIES
Dr. Rabindranath Menon
Times were when a beautiful face
Bore charm like a million stars, and
a figure
Decently exposed could preface
a glorious triumph, staying so for
ever
in memory and desire. No more.
They all come tall, you need
now-a-days
a ladder for eye-to eye gaze. All that you praise
is gilt, not gold. Beauty is skin-deep,
so dig and see, they say. The candidates keep
stock answers. There are baskets to choose:
The weak, the poor, the screw-loose,
and AIDS for a start. And that gentle talk
with accent, style and gesture to
knock
you out, is part of the pracice, the
smile,
half-cocked, ever ready, that soft
and docile
pose too. Remember to coo words out,
forget not for a moment how you pout.
Schools to teach and coach complete,
no contest till the course you
complete.
Develop clever props, those
beauty-shops
do a wonderful job, they know the
ropes
that raise your hopes. Artificial drops
fill the mist of innocence in your
eyes.
Intelligence be oral, not cerebral.
Beauty contests have a new moral:
Uncut diamonds can’t glitter, or
better
the expert cutters fetch you the
twitter
and the lactics. Synthetics in body and mind
leave face-figure naturals far
behind.
The shy gold-flame of an oil-lamp
is passe, acquire the artificial neon-stamp.